


Jungle Trap

by TableTennis



Category: One Piece, The Jungle Book (1967)
Genre: Animal Death, Humor, Hypnotism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2019-06-06
Packaged: 2020-04-11 19:58:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19116661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TableTennis/pseuds/TableTennis
Summary: Usopp's trek to fetch water goes horribly wrong.





	Jungle Trap

“No! Absolutely not!” 

“You drew the short straw,” Nami said, poking Usopp’s shoulder as she held up her own long straw, taunting him. “Don’t be a baby and go fetch the water.” 

“But it’s  _ dark!”  _ Usopp cried, pointing to the thick jungle on the small island they’d landed at. The sun hadn’t quite set yet, and the sky was turning red. “There’s probably bears out there, or mushrooms!” 

“The lake isn’t that far away, Long-Nose- _ kun,”  _ Robin said. It was she who had used her ability to discover the lake in the first place. “If you don’t return in ten minutes, two of us can come to collect your body.” 

“ _ Don’t say that!”  _

“Robin- _ chan _ is right,” Sanji said, patting Usopp’s head. “If you take too long, we’ll send someone to check on you.” 

“The sun’s setting,” Zoro pointed out. “Better hurry up before it gets too dark.” 

“You can do it!” Luffy exclaimed, pumping his fists in the air. 

“Yeah!” Chopper echoed, imitating him. 

“If I die, I  _ will  _ come back and haunt you all!” Usopp snapped. He grabbed the two buckets from the deck and turned, climbing over the railing and falling onto the beach. He stomped away, arms stiff by his sides. 

“Stupid jerks,” he muttered under his breath as he walked, his path lit just enough to not trip. He cut through the trees and bushes, walking through a clearing, and jumped when he heard something creeping around. He froze, eyes darting, and continued on when nothing appeared. 

“They’re all against me—oh, thank god,” he said as he reached the lake. He removed his boots and waded farther out, scooping up the less muddy water with one bucket, and then the other. He sloshed back, setting down the buckets and pulling his boots back on one-by-one after shaking off each leg, one-by-one. 

He hoisted each bucket in each hand and trooped back into the trees, his heartbeat slower now that he was halfway done. As he reached the small clearing again, something dropped from the trees in front of him, and he screamed and jumped back. 

“Don’t be  _ scared,”  _ the thing said. Usopp squinted, his eyes adjusting, and realized it was a large python. 

“Y… You’re talking,” he said dumbly. Remembering that pythons weren’t venomous, he relaxed again, though his shoulders remained stiff and he was ready to swing the buckets at any given moment. 

“Mm… yes. It’s one of my many talents.” The snake swung his head closer to Usopp, studying him from this angle and that. “My name is Kaa… what are you doing here, in my jungle?” 

“Your jungle, huh?” Usopp said, shifting. Kaa the snake had dropped so much of his body from the trees that he was making it difficult to find a getaway path. “Um… fetching water… what’re  _ you  _ doing?” 

Kaa dropped the rest of his body from the tree and coiled most of it beneath him, raising his head to eye-level. “ _ Searching  _ for dinner.” 

“Okay, nope, nope, I’m leaving,” Usopp exclaimed, side-stepping Kaa and running. He came to an abrupt halt when Kaa stuck out his tail, making him flail in place. Kaa used Usopp’s brief confusion to seize his shoulders with his tail and turn him around. 

“You’re  _ smarter  _ than you look, catching on  _ so  _ quick” Kaa hissed. Dizzying colors burst from the centers of his eyes, endlessly forming concentric rings in never-repeating patterns of blue, green, yellow, green, yellow, blue, green, blue, yellow, green… “But you weren’t quick enough, human.” 

Usopp stared into Kaa’s eyes, the colors unusually bright in the dim of the forest. Slowly, unbeknownst to him, his own eyes began to reflect Kaa’s, though unlike the snake’s eyes, his pupils remained the center of the rings, the colors threatening to close in on them at any moment. 

“Huh?” he mumbled, his arms dropping uselessly to his sides. “What’s… your eyes’re… weird…” 

“ _ Shush,” _ Kaa hissed, smiling widely. He swayed his head around and Usopp helplessly mirrored him, his eyes locked on Kaa’s. “Just  _ sleep,  _ young one,  _ sink  _ into  _ sleep.”  _

The alarm bells in Usopp’s head, usually so insistent on him running, died down as if someone had covered them with pillows. He could stay there if he wanted, he realized as his hands relaxed, dropping the buckets onto the ground, where their contents spilled out and soaked the dirt. He  _ was  _ getting tired, and something about staring deep into the dazzling rings was making him so peaceful and relaxed, such a relief after the stress of venturing out on his own, he thought distantly as he felt something snake up his legs. His mouth fell open and his eyelids fluttered and he found his thoughts shrinking the more he stared into the snake’s eyes. 

“That’s it,” Kaa whispered, coiling his long, thick tail around Usopp’s body until Usopp was completely encircled from his ankles to his neck. “You’re  _ so  _ tired now, aren’t you?” Kaa nodded, making Usopp nod with him. 

“So… tired,” Usopp repeated, slurring his words as his eyelids drooped. 

“That’s right, you’re  _ so sleepy  _ you just want to  _ slip  _ into  _ slumber.  _ Relax, young one, you won’t fall.” 

Usopp’s muscles lost tension, sending him deeper into a trance as he stared deeper into Kaa’s eyes. 

“ _ Sleep  _ for me,  _ sleep  _ now,” Kaa sang. The rings of colors spread out from the centers of his eyes even faster, and Usopp’s eyes reflected this change until the colors appeared to engulf his pupils entirely. Usopp grinned widely, mimicking Kaa’s smile, and his head dropped onto Kaa’s coils covering his shoulders. “There you go, don’t you feel  _ so  _ much better?” 

“…Yes…” Usopp murmured, his eyes continuing to spin with dizzying colors even as Kaa’s own ceased the light-show. 

“Then it’s time to  _ sleep,”  _ Kaa repeated, and Usopp finally closed his eyes, falling fast asleep with a smile on his face. 

Kaa’s tongue flickered in and out, tasting and smelling Usopp’s face. He lifted Usopp with his coils and opened his mouth wide, but a noise made him turn around. 

* * *

“He’s taking a long time,” Luffy complained, hanging over the railing. 

“It  _ has  _ been over ten minutes,” Nami said, looking at the sun. “Luffy, Chopper, go look for him.” 

“Yes, ma’am,” they said together. Chopper turned into Human Point and he and Luffy jumped over the ship railing, heading into the jungle. 

“Usopp!” Luffy yelled, looking around. 

“Usopp!” Chopper yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth. 

A strange sound reached their ears, like a large thing slithering on the ground, and some leaves above them trembled. They hurried forward and came upon a clearing. 

“Usopp?” Luffy said. He and Chopper looked down and saw the buckets, now empty. 

“Oh, no, maybe something did happen,” Chopper exclaimed. “But what?” 

Something dropped down from the trees and Luffy and Chopper jumped back. 

“Can I help you?” Kaa said, the rest of his body hidden in the leaves. 

“Whoa, a talking snake,” Luffy exclaimed. “We’re looking for our friend, Usopp. Have you seen him?” 

“Usopp… Usopp…” Kaa rolled his eyes, pretending to think. “Is he a young man, about as tall as you?” 

Luffy and Chopper nodded. 

“Does he have a long nose?” 

Luffy and Chopper nodded. 

“Was he carrying those buckets on the ground?” 

Luffy and Chopper nodded. 

“No,  _ sorry,”  _ Kaa said, shaking his head. “I’m afraid I haven’t  _ seen  _ anyone like that.” 

“Oh, okay,” Chopper said, disappointed. 

“Thanks anyway,” Luffy said, frowning. “C’mon, Chopper.” 

He and Chopper turned to leave, but then paused. 

“Wait,” Luffy said, both of them turning back to look at Kaa. “If you haven’t seen him, how’d—” 

They froze, staring into Kaa’s eyes, which had started up the dizzying rings of color anew. Blue, yellow, green, blue, green, blue, yellow, blue, green, yellow… 

“You two need to  _ sleep  _ for me, too,” Kaa hissed, swinging his head between Luffy and Chopper as their eyes began to reflect his. “ _ Sleep  _ like your friend,  _ sink  _ into  _ sleep…”  _

“What?” Luffy said, his mouth hanging open. “Uh… Chopper…” 

Chopper didn’t answer, struck dumb by the colors. 

“The other one will make a nice meal,” Kaa said, pushing his face closer to theirs. Their eyelids fluttered and they found themselves unable or unwilling to raise a hand against him. “Maybe I’ll keep you two with me, and asleep, until I’ve digested him… and then, you can take his place, one at a t—” 

His speech was abruptly cut off along with his head, which fell to the forest floor. The part of his body hanging from the trees went limp. 

“Hey,” Zoro said, kicking aside the snake’s head. “Nami—” He frowned, looking at Luffy and Chopper, who still stood there, their eyes covered with colorful rings. Zoro slapped Luffy and pinched Chopper’s cheeks until they stirred, blinking and frowning and rubbing their eyes. 

“Hi, Zoro!” Luffy said, grinning. “What’re you doing here?” 

“Saving you?” Zoro said, sheathing his sword. “Nami sent me to join you. She thought you might get in trouble.” He looked at Chopper. “Guess she was right.” 

“Wasn’t our fault,” Luffy protested. “That stupid snake tricked us.” 

“Yeah,” Chopper echoed, frowning. “He was really tricky! Also, what happened?” 

“Looked like he was putting you in a trance,” Zoro said. “This is what happens when you let your guard down. You can’t let yourself be tricked like that.” 

“You would’ve fallen for it if you were there,” Luffy said, pointing an accusing finger. 

“I  _ was  _ here, and I  _ didn’t  _ fall for it! Now where’s Usopp?” 

A loud snore made Chopper jump. The three of them hurried to the edge of the clearing and peered around a tree. The rest of Kaa’s body was there, and in the middle of the coils sat Usopp, still sleeping with a smile. 

“See!” Luffy exclaimed. “We’re not the only ones!” 

“You’re all idiots,” Zoro said, rolling his eyes. 

Chopper knelt and grabbed Usopp’s face. “Usopp!” he said, shaking him gently. “Wake up!” 

Usopp moved and opened his eyes, now clear. He yawned and stretched. “Hey,” he murmured, looking around. “Morning, everyone…” 

“It’s evening,” Chopper said. “Are you okay, Usopp?” 

“Just fine… why?” 

“Because I think that snake wanted to eat you,” Luffy said. 

“Snake… ?” 

Usopp looked down and screamed, completely waking up when he saw the coils surrounding him. He leapt high into the air and out of the coils, landing hard on his behind. 

“That’s right!” he shrieked, jumping to his feet. “That snake hypnotized me! He was gonna eat me! Zoro, help!” 

“He’s already dead,” Zoro said. “His head’s over there.” 

Usopp paled and looked at the limp coils. “So… I was wrapped up… in… a dead…” He leaned against Zoro, legs shaking. “Zoro. Carry me home. I’m gonna faint.” 

Zoro scooped up Usopp, Usopp clinging to his neck, and told Chopper to go fetch new water. Chopper ran off with the buckets and came back soon, handing one to Luffy. 

“If it helps, me and Chopper got tricked, too,” Luffy said the three of them set off for the ship. 

“Yeah, don’t feel bad!” Chopper said. 

“I kinda feel bad about almost getting eaten!” Usopp exclaimed in answer to Chopper’s encouragement, squeezing his eyes shut to avoid looking at the snake’s body. “I’m gonna throw up. I hate this.” 

“Hold it till you’re back on the ship,” Zoro advised. “Then you can blame it on seasickness.” 

“Zoro, you’re so smart. Why can’t I be more like you?” 

“Start by not letting your guard down!” 


End file.
